Busy Week Capped Off By Ocho’s Return…
June 12, 2008 at 1:12 pm | Article by Paul Hickey |
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Whether or not Ocho Cinco’s recent appearance at Bengals mini-camp was just a token visit for show, the fact of the matter is that he showed up. This gives his fantasy owners much more trade leverage when trying to deal him this off-season, because - at least for now - it looks like he’ll be back with the Bengals in 2008. Normally, this would have been plenty of headline grabbing news for one week during the NFL off-season, but the release of Cedric Benson and the retirement of Michael Strahan and Jonathan Ogden also impacted the landscape of fantasy football heading into 2008.
Rising - Paul Posluszny, Bills LB - Leading off with an IDP in this week’s stock market report, the second year LB from Penn State is looking phenomenal in Bills practices, making plays on the ball often, while also showing decent pass coverage skills for an MLB. Poz has battled back to full strength after suffering a season-ending broken arm in Week 3 of 2007. There’s no doubt that he’s a key element to both the present and future of the Bills ever-improving defense, and we see no reason why he can’t make the climb to become one of fantasy football’s top individual defensive players. He looks like a traditional middle linebacker, and when it comes right down to it, he should be a tackling machine in 2008.
Rising - Matt Forte, Bears RB - As we’ve eluded to several times on No-Offseason.com, Matt Forte’s fantasy value has absolutely skyrocketed. First of all, he has looked absolutely phenomenal in Bears practices this off-season. Offensive coordinator Ron Turner has called him an every down back, a spectacular receiver out of the backfield, and someone who could easily get 300 touches in 2008. As if that weren’t enough, the Bears also released his primary competition - Cedric Benson - after his second arrest in 30 days. Wait, there’s more. Forte’s back-up, Adrian Peterson, had an appendectomy recently, that will keep him out until training camp, meaning Forte will get full reps and attention from coaches - which is invaluable for a rookie rusher. Forte is climbing up both seasonal and dynasty rankings and by the time August rolls around, he’s likely to be gone in the third round of all seasonal formats.
Rising - Justin Tuck, Giants DE - Say hello to Michael Strahan’s replacement folks. After spending three seasons as a roaming defensive lineman, Tuck finally has a permanent home opposite Osi Umenyiora. He had a breakout season in 2007, racking up 65 total tackles and 10 sacks. Tuck should be the perfect blend of a pass-rusher and run-stopper, thanks to his experience at defensive tackle in Steve Spagnuolo’s defense. We have him ranked as a top three IDP defensive lineman in our rankings, and fully expect for him to be a premier fantasy player now that Strahan is out of the picture.
Rising - Jamaal Charles, Chiefs RB - Chiefs head coach Herm Edwards recently made comments about Larry Johnson’s work being “limited” to no more than “30 touches a game.” Well, we’re not concerned about LJ’s fantasy value, but Edwards went on to talk about rookie RB Jamaal Charles and the contribution opportunities he may have in his first season. Edwards said Charles can expect 10-12 carries per game. We’re not sure we believe this, but the mere fact that Charles is being mentioned in such a positive light - and above second year back Kolby Smith - is extremely solid for his fantasy value. Dynasty owners should snag him in the late second round of rookie only drafts, and seasonal owners are looking at him being a very solid late round sleeper candidate.
Rising - Ray Rice, Ravens RB - Rice, a second round rookie out of Rutgers, is in a very similar situation to that of Charles. He’ll back up Willis McGahee, but could see just enough time to make him semi-valuable in PPR leagues. He falls into the category of “phenomenal dynasty sleeper” as well, and should be taken in the top 20 overall picks of rookie-only drafts (top 15 if you don’t include IDPs).
Rising - Chris Chambers, Chargers WR - I don’t think we’ve made it quite clear yet just how much we really like Chris Chambers heading into 2008. He finished 2007 on an extremely high note, and it was clear that he became one of Philip Rivers’ favorite targets. He doesn’t normally strike fantasy owners as a guy who can blow up and post huge digits, but we’re not putting it past him at all. We’ve seen him go as early as the fourth round of expert league drafts this off-season, and we’re putting him on sleeper alert as someone who can be a top end WR2 in 2008.
Falling - Cedric Benson, Bears RB - The obvious falling star of the week is Cedric Benson, formerly of the Chicago Bears. We predicted his second arrest, and have since learned that he was likely pulled over for speeding in his new sports car in downtown Austin, and had a few drinks in his system. Still, we’re wondering why he couldn’t have hired a limo driver that night, or done something to avoid trouble. Instead, he’s flushed his career down the toilet after being the fourth overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft.
Rising - DeShaun Foster, 49ers RB - After staying relatively quiet since joining the 49ers, Foster - who was released by the Panthers earlier this off-season - is fitting in quite well in San Francisco. Mike Nolan and Mike Martz have been impressed with his ability to catch the rock out of the backfield, an important attribute in Martz’s scheme. He won’t cut into Frank Gore’s load, but if Gore goes down for any period of time in 2008, Foster should step in and be a solid fantasy option in PPR leagues.
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